Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy asks city for help cleaning up Mellon Square Garden
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Some say Mellon Square Garden in Downtown Pittsburgh has become a place for open-air drug dealing, there's violence and the park is absolutely filthy.
Mellon Square Garden is supposed to be a beautiful open space pretty much in the center of Pittsburgh to enjoy and spend time in but many people who own businesses around the park and who frequent the park say recently it's been anything but a place to visit.
Thursday afternoon at Mellon Square, city police and paramedics assisted a man who has made the park his home. It's one of many disturbing sights, according to Joe Keppick.
"It's made me sick," said Joe Keppick, who works Downtown. "I've walked down here, I've seen fists fights, I've seen public urination in the middle of the street."
Keppick's not alone. The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy sent a message to Deputy Mayor Jane Pawlak appealing for the city to help with the problem.
The memo said there is human waste throughout the plaza, there was a recent knife fight and dozens of people were around the park either high or intoxicated. The conservancy asked the city to turn on the water, calling the current conditions grotesque and unsafe. They also asked for the city's Public Safety department to assign officers to the square, saying their presence would be a great help.
"My employees won't come Downtown, our clients won't come Downtown, they won't meet with us Downtown," Robert Fragasso said.
Fragasso's offices are located directly across from Mellon Square Garden.
He says it would be wrong to blame those experiencing homelessness and they're just one of the issues.
"The criminals are preying on the drug addiction of those people," Fragasso said.
Fragasso, whose offices have been Downtown for more than half a century, says the problem is solvable if the city and business leaders have the will to help those who need it and return places like Mellon Square to what they once were.
"What's needed is a comprehensive plan that will bring in all the stakeholders," Fragrasso said.
"Denying the problem doesn't begin to solve it," he added.
KDKA-TV reached out to the city for a comment but didn't hear back by airtime.
